This invention relates generally to securing objects to a tile roof. More particularly, it relates to an apparatus and method for mounting an object, such as a directional antenna, to a tile roof without altering or damaging the roof tiles and without compromising the integrity of the roof.
In recent years, advances in communications technology have resulted in a dramatic increase in the use of small aperture, directional, reflective antennas. In particular, with the spread of direct satellite television and microwave broadband Internet access, these antennas are commonly used to provide television, telephone, and Internet services for business or residential use. The antennas are generally affixed to a house, apartment building, or place of business for the transmission and/or reception of the electromagnetic signals associated with television, telephone or Internet service. The antennas are small in size and lightweight enough to facilitate relatively simple installation by a service technician or, in many instances, a homeowner.
The services for which these antennas are provided most frequently employ line-of-sight communication methods where the straight line path between the transmitting and receiving antennas must be unobstructed. For example, in a direct television application, the small aperture antenna used by a homeowner must point directly at the appropriate geosynchronously orbiting satellite. In another example, the antenna used by a homeowner for some broadband Internet access applications must have an unobstructed path directly to an antenna at the other end of the transmission link, typically located at some elevated location within the coverage area, such as a tower on the roof of a tall building. In many cases, the only location within a homeowner's lot or a business's grounds that satisfies the line of sight condition is atop the roof of a house, condominium, apartment building or office building. Mounting an antenna on the roof, however, can present obstacles to the installer, particularly when the building is roofed with tiles rather than with materials such as composition or wooden shingles. In many areas of the world, it is quite common for homes and other buildings to be roofed with concrete or composition tiles. These tiles are manufactured in various styles having different sizes and profiles. For example, in the southwestern United States, tiles often referred to as Spanish or Mexican tiles are popular. Concrete or composition roof tiles interlock and overlap to form an effective outer barrier of the roofing system. Such tiles, however, present a number of obstacles if one desires to mount a small aperture antenna, to the roof. Previously, to mount an antenna on a tile roof has required drilling holes in tiles or modifying tiles by similar operations, which is difficult to do and can jeopardize the integrity of the tile. This drawback also makes it difficult to mount other objects to the tile rooftop, including solar energy photo voltaic panels, ornamental and security lighting and flag poles, to name a few examples.
Given these difficulties, antennas commonly have been mounted to houses with tile roofs by attaching one or more wooden boards to the eaves of a house and affixing a pole to the boards. The pole may be as much as thirty feet in length, and the antenna is attached near the top of the pole. This practice can result in marginally acceptable antenna installation for several reasons. First, the eaves of many homes may not be structurally sound enough to provide the antenna with sufficient stability in the presence of high winds. Moreover, this type of insallation is difficult and labor intensive. It quite often requires the installer to work from a ladder and the installation is expensive compared to a typical installation onto a non-tiled roof. In addition, currently practiced installation methods for homes with tile roofs often render a result that is not aesthetically pleasing. In areas where homeowners' associations or similar bodies impose and enforce architectural and aesthetic restrictions, their often are no aesthetically acceptable methods for mounting small aperture antennas to tile roofs. Additionally, many individuals, families, and businesses who occupy buildings with tile roofs currently have no cost effective, practical method for attaching objects including security lighting, flag poles, and rooftop ornaments to the roof.
In addition to eliminating a homeowner or place of business from access to the advantages offered by communication links using roof mounted antennas, the use of current antenna installation practices deprives communication service companies of potential business opportunities. A service company such as a direct television or Internet connectivity provider will consider a site technically unacceptable in a case where the installation of an antenna onto a building with a tile roof is prohibitively expensive for the installer, is unacceptable aesthetically or structurally to the resident or business operator, or does not comply with applicable architectural restrictions.
In view of the above discussion, there exists a need for an apparatus and method for securing antennas and other objects to a tile roof. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus and method.
Another object of the invention is to provide such a mounting apparatus and method that is suitable for use with a large variety of roofing tile shapes and styles.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus and method for the mounting of objects to tile roofs that requires no modification to the roof tiles and preserves the integrity of the roof and building on which it is utilized.
Still another object of the invention is to provide such a mounting apparatus that can be installed using a standardized installation technique that can be easily and quickly performed with a minimum of installer instruction.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide such a mounting apparatus that yields a cost effective solution for mounting objects onto tile roofs by providing reduced labor and equipment costs.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide such a mounting apparatus that is compact and lightweight.
Another object of the invention is to provide such a mounting apparatus that exhibits excellent stability for roof-mounted objects under conditions of high wind velocity.
Still one other object of the invention is to provide such a mounting apparatus that is aesthetically pleasing.
Another object of the invention is to provide such a mounting apparatus that significantly reduces the number of technically unacceptable tile roof antenna installation sites for service providers.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description that follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by the instrumentalities and combinations pointed out in the appended claims.